Compare it to the sober, tasteful, esthetic, and mystic cover artwork for the import edition, DUNA. (Referring to “Dune Definitive Collection 2 DVD Set [Import] (1984)” with the blue moons.)

This US edition is a typical example of what happens when producers are in charge, and always have the final word. Their goal is foremost to sell and make as much money as possible; not to make an esthetically pleasing product. In Hollywood they are often speculative hustlers, as opposed to real Artists. Here they have squeezed in as much information as possible into the picture; all characters are crammed in. Details all over the picture. It’s just chaotic and ugly. Unbalanced.

It’s the same thing with the new Star Wars films packages. The foremost thought and motivation is to sell. (But of course, at the same time there are great artists who have contributed to these films! People who manage to present their visions, untainted by producers’ restless clumsy hands. But that is another matter.)

Things were better when the artists themselves were in charge of design, before the commercially speculative producers took over everything around the early 1980s or thereabout .

Edit:

P.S. To all of you who have given negative feedback to this review: You simply don’t understand how fooled you are by the commercialized film industry! It’s a sad state to see the large masses being brainwashed.

Rating: 1 / 5

I have to tell you, this was the worst movie I have ever seen, second only after maybe, Criminal Law, with Gary Oldman, and Kevin Bacon. Okay, this one was worse, now that I think about it.

I saw this one in the theaters about 17 or 18 years ago. I think I remember sneaking into it, or going in quite unwilling, but it was the only movie starting at the time I was there.

I began watching, and it seemed like it was a few minutes into the movie, and no advertisements ran. I watched, as some characters came onto the screen, and weird gibberish came out of the speakers. I had heard it was a really strange movie, so this didn’t put me off, …yet. But then I started seeing weird things, like smoke suddenly appearing, than being sucked up, and people walking sideways, and backwards. Well, I think you’re beginning to catch on. The film was running backwards, or something. I’m still not sure. So, what’s the big deal, you ask? Read on.

HERE’S THE KICKER!!!! There were about 20 people in the audience, and nobody, not one person realized what the problem was, until about 3 – 5 minutes into the film! I’m not kidding! It was the most bizarre theater experience I’ve ever had! Finally I stood up, just as one or two other folks were standing up to go complain.

Well, I didn’t return to the movie. It was like some kind of sign, telling me to leave the movie theater. I think I asked to go see another film instead, and never looked back.

This is a true story. I’m not kidding! This happened in the area of South San Francisco, in the Bay Area, San Francisco, sometime around 1987 or 1988.

MC White said: Backwards smoke and gibberish is a message from above; leave the theater!
Rating: 1 / 5

Roald Dahl is a brilliant author and James and the Giant Peach was one of my favorite books when I was growing up.

This is a grown up animated story. I tried to get my 4 year old to watch with me but she was uninterested. I think it is because the colors aren’t as vivid and the images weren’t as quick as the movies kids are used to these days.

There were parts I wasn’t comfortable with like farmers shouting, “lets kill kim” before shooting Mr. Fox’s tail off. Also, the scene where Mrs. Fox is bandaging up Mr. Fox’s bloody butt, where his tail came off keeps replaying in my head. I could have done without the bloody bandage. Other than that, the movie was smart, and older children or adults may be more interested than your little one.

It was too wordy and slow for today’s kids to sit through but the idea of stop-motion animation in a new format was fun. I really loved the soundtrack/score.
Rating: 3 / 5

***That said***

I am pre-ordering this Blu-Ray because I know that this will be one of those films (like Rushmore) that I reserve for rainy days when I call in sick to work. If you like Wes, just buy it.
Rating: 5 / 5

So, with all this going for it, the movie just didn’t thrill me, and I’m not sure why. The animation, though thoroughly competent, rarely rose above competence – but did so nicely in the “digging” scenes and in any involving smoke. Characters grated on me, especially Mr. Fox himself, who I found irredeemably self-centered, the kind who tends to reward friends’ loyalty with some pretty poor behavior. Also, I’ll happily go along with a forestful of critters in educated professions and snappy tailoring. Within that context (and within his sharp-looking leisure suit), Fox’s claim to being a wild animal rings false – unless “wild” means something more like a frat party than like a jungle.

So, I kept the characters at arm’s length, and the artistry wasn’t enough to pull me in. I’m glad I saw it, but I’m in no rush to see it again.

– wiredweird, reviewing the theatrical release
Rating: 3 / 5

Even though animations permitted the producers to invent diverse and effective characters, it exposed the weakness of making elegant characters, motions, or plots. The artists put too much labor in making the faces of the characters appear rich and impressive. Yet, all artistic ingenuity were depleted in making gracefully moving or talking characters.

The stiffed and skinny foxes made up a polarized existence that is far inferior to the real world of our beloved animals. Drawing parallels between the conflicts of the survival needs of the farmers and the wolves with those of human conflicts was overreaching. Making the best of enjoying the artistic richness of the movie did not reconcile my discontent with Mr. Fox.

Though most movie theaters display brief description of movies, those pamphlets are meticulously designed to escape the attention of busy people. In theaters where the description posters were intentionally hidden, I never took a chance wasting my time and money on nonsensical stuff. Fantastic Mr. Fox will be my last entrapment in sitting in a theater for a total waste. Beside myself, there was another poor guy sitting in the 120-seat theater. In the same night, I had to see the Blind Side for the sake of getting over my anger of being stuck with wolves suffering from spinal Billiard sticks.

Considering the enormous resources spent on movie display, I doubt that the $20 total per show would pay for the utility usage or the space rental. Even the $4.75 cups of soda in movie theaters are gathering dust from Sunday through Friday. As such, movies theaters would be better off playing the true legendary movies than competing for new high-risk productions.

Rating: 2 / 5